trade standards

Hoogsteder & Hoogsteder have been buying and selling paintings for over 50 years

We buy with knowledge and expertise

We know what fashion dictates, but we buy with a long term vision

Quality is what counts

Most importantly, an Old Master painting has to pass our quality standard

There is more to a painting than the attractive subject

For example, this still life by the relatively unknown Edwaert Collier (photo on the left), which we sold to the Museum of Western Art in Tokyo, is a much better painting than many late, comparatively poor works by Pieter Claesz, who in his prime was Holland’s greatest still life painter.

Many great Old Master paintings are grossly undervalued

Cornelis van Poelenburgh was one of the most expensive artists of his time. He is now almost forgotten by the art market. However, the new Amsterdam Rijksmuseum – rightly so – has him on permanent display. Contrary to the current market, we think he is worthwhile collecting. A fine example of Van Poelenburgh’s work is his Landscape with Nymphs near a Grotto(photo on the left).

Many Old Masters are still cheap

Only one in twenty of the most expensive paintings sold at auction is an Old Master. We consider six million euros for a beautifully preserved still life by Willem Claesz Heda a good price, compared to 100 million for Andy Warhol or 26 million for Gerhard Richter.

Price range

Our prices range from 25,000 euros to the multi-million euro bracket.

Our most exclusive paintings are not shown online.

In 2013 Elsevier Juist published an interview with Willem Jan Hoogsteder:

“A copyist paints part of the cuff and then the coat beside it, because a copyist copies; but that’s not how a real painter paints.“

Hoogsteder Journal 2 featured an article about how to look at Old Master paintings:

“Anyone interested in the artistic value of a painting must look beyond the subject matter. Artistic value is a quality in a painting that reflects not what is shown but refers to how it is painted. It is the skill of the artist that determines whether the depiction of the subject is a mere representation or a work of art.“